MOSCOW, Jul 24 The reigning world chess champion Norwegian Magnus Carlsen became the winner stage of the Grand Chess Tour in Zagreb (Croatia). Carlsen has 22.5 points. Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi scored five victories in blitz games on the final day, drew once and lost three times. According to the results of the tournament, the Russian scored 21 points and took fifth place. In the face-to-face meeting, Nepomniachtchi, as on Saturday, lost to Carlsen. The second place in the tournament was taken by the representative of France, Alireza Firouzja (22), another Frenchman, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (22), rounded out the top three. in rapid, July 23-24 — in blitz. The next stage of the Grand Chess Tour will take place on August 24-31 in the USA. In early July, Nepomniachtchi became the winner of the Candidates Tournament in Madrid and won the right to play with Carlsen again for the world crown in 2023. However, the Norwegian on Wednesday announced his refusal to play the match for the world title. Now Nepomniachtchi must face the Chinese Ding Liren, who came second in the Candidates Tournament.
